USA > Vermont > Bennington County > History of Bennington County, Vt. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 32
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67
On the opposite side of the street was the printing office where was pub- lished in 1828-9 The Journal of the Times, with William Lloyd Garrison,
280
TOWN OF BENNINGTON.
editor, afterwards the eminent American abolitionist. It was about this time, perhaps a year or two later, that a speaker who had been advertised to deliver an address in the church upon the slavery question was hissed out of the house by some of the first men of the town, when it was learned that the audience would not quitely listen to him. Thus we are able to note the change in sen- timent and progress which had been made in relation to this institution in the thirty years to the time of the rebellion. It was a few rods south of here that the first school-house in town was located. Farther down was the tailor shop of Isaiah Hendryx, who, with Richard Carpenter in his shop at the north end of the village, was able to do the necessary cutting and making of clothing for the town and vicinity. There was no ready- made clothing sold in those days, people having their garments cither cut and made by a tailor, or which was much the more common, cut by a tailor and made in their homes by a tail- oress with wnat help they could give one. We pass the large carpenter shop of Hiram Waters, an esteemed citizen and now the oldest male resident in town, whose business has been commented upon, before reaching the blacksmith shop of Samuel Chandler, who was assisted by his aged father and others in the work of the shop, quite an item of which was the shoeing of oxen of which, at the present time, there is probably not a half dozen yoke in the whole town. Just east of here, on the north side of the small stream that ran under the shop, was the cider-mill of Pliny Dewey, where large quantities of apples were brought from different parts of the town and laid waiting to be ground in turn in the mill, which was operated by a horse attached to a long sweep. The cider was taken to the homes of the farmers, where a good deal was drank, or to the distillery, which was situated lower down the bank, and made into cider brandy of which also much was used.
Nathaniel Dexter, the watchmaker or jeweler, did the work in this line necessary for the accommodation of the inhabitants. The manufacture of wagons, sleighs and coaches by Joseph Ogden, a little west of the Hicks Ho- tel, was carried on more extensively than at any other time in Bennington, requiring quite a number of employees, as there was a large paint shop besides the wagon and blacksmith shop, required for the business done here. There was a shop about a mile west carried on by Samuel Scott where work of this kind was done, and which at the time was considered as belonging to the vil- lage. The pottery which was then located south of the village, was operated by the older Nortons, and was soon afterwards removed to the east village. The clay which was used in the manufacture of stoneware as well as that for earthen pans, which were extensively in use for holding milk, but which have been superseded by tin, was now ground by horse-power, and it was princi- pally to get the advantage of water power that the change was made. Nor- man Norton here made and repaired guns and rifles, which at this time were discharged by the old " flint-lock " attachment, the sight of which would now be a great curiosity to the young.
281
TOWN OF BENNINGTON.
In the valley through which a small rivulet flows, on the west side of the road north of the "blue hill," was a tannery where was manufactured for a long time much of the leather consumed in town, in close proximity to which Jonathan Rogers plied his hand at the trade of shoemaking. The road has since been changed and carried around to the west, so that the steep hills each way from the tannery have been avoided, the new one coming out south of and beyond where Dr. Jonas Fay had his residence in early times.
The law offices have not been mentioned, but are worthy of note, being often frequented as places of business, for with the eagerness with which many rushed into the law, and the difficulty with which they could get extricated when once in, made much activity in this direction. Of those who had retired from the active duties of the law were Colonel O. C. Merrill, Captain David Robinson, James Hubbell, Truman Squier, and Governor Isaac Tiche- nor, who is remembered as wearing a long cue, and dressing in Continental style with knee breeches and buckles. The others who occupied offices for court or collecting business were John S. Robinson, Uel M. Robinson, Samuel H. Blackmer, Henry Kellogg, Hiland Hall, Pierpont Isham, and William S. Southworth.
The physicians were Drs. Noadiah Swift and Heman Swift in the lower part of the village, and William Bigelow and George O. Gilbert in the upper. The most of their ride was upon horseback with the old fashioned saddle-bags thrown over the saddle or in the two- wheeled sulky. When they entered the house on their professional calls, and threw the bags upon their knee to get at the contents for a prescription, the odor would remind one of a drug store where quantities of medicine were compounded and prepared. There has been quite a change in the opinion and practice of the medical fra- ternity as to the quantity of medicine necessary to be used since these hon- ored physicians were in the performance of their professional duties.
There was now a large amount of driving and teaming between here and Troy, for bringing goods and groceries for the different stores and shops, for the transportation of iron from the furnaces in the east part of the town, and the carrying of flour and other commodities across the mountain into towns be- yond, and for sending the produce of the farms to the city market. All this, with the great importance of the stage business, as frequently fifty passengers and sometimes many more, through and local, were transported daily each way, led capitalists to construct a macadamized road to Troy, grading down the hills, and thus making it a noted thoroughfare of the day. The principal stockholders were from the city and the project proved a poor investment.
Thus the village with its industries and the advantages heretofore enjoyed for trade was considered one of the most prosperous in the State, and the pop- ulation of the town was exceeded by only one, that of Burlington.
There has been an endeavor to give something of an idea of what was be- 36
282
HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
ing done here when attention was called more particularly to manufacturing, and those industries which have done so much to build up and give importance to many of our New England towns and villages. Though many of the dwell- ings have been destroyed by fire and others gone to decay or been torn down or otherwise removed, many of the old residences yet remain, and have been kept in good repair, or have been remodeled, while others have been erected. It is a beautiful village in which to reside, and with the additional improve- ments which may be expected in years to come, an earnest of which is the pro- gress made in the last few years, it will continue to be one of the pleasantest in all New England.
The Bennington Battle Monument, standing proudly on the summit of this historic ground, and so near the objective point to which the army was aiming when the decisive blow was struck, will ever be the admiration of the world, and will fix for all time the place where untold thousands will delight to go up to catch the inspiration which the towering pile will give in a degree to the merely curious, but in a higher and holier sense to the poetic and the patriotic. All arrangements having been consummated necessary to release the funds appropriated by Congress and the States of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont for the building of the monument, at a meeting of the Monument Association January 12, 1887 " full powers were given the board of directors to make contracts and build the monument after the design approved by the association." The location had been fixed " in the center of the highway on the crest of the hill, as nearly opposite the site of the Continental 'storehouse as practicable." A contract was made with W. H. Ward, of Lowell, Mass., for building " a monument not less than three hundred feet high and substantially in accordance with the 'Rinn plan,' at a cost of $75,000." This contemplates an inside staircase of wood, which will undoubtedly be superseded by one of iron, so as to render the structure perfectly fireproof.
The 16th of August, 1887, one hundred and ten years from the day of the battle, was fixed upon for the "laying of the corner stone," and all preliminary arrangements were made to carry out the plan proposed. The earth had been removed and a satisfactory rock bottom reached; the foundation had been laid to the surface from a depth of about fifteen feet in solid masonry, and with much care. Ex-Governor B. F. Prescott of New Hampshire was president of the day. The governors of the States of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont were present with other eminent men, adding interest by their pres- ence. The procession composed of the military companies of the States; of companies from Massachusetts and New Hampshire with one from the State of New York, and of thousands who had gathered to witness the ceremonies, with Colonel George W. Hooker as marshal, came from Bennington village, accom- panied by a number of "brass bands" and " drum corps," and occupied the seats, platforms and stands which had been erected for its accommodation.
283
TOWN OF BENNINGTON.
But a small proportion could find seating or standing room within hearing of the speakers, and the multitude were obliged to make themselves as comfort- able as possible during the exercises, which were intensely interesting to those within certain limits. The corner stone was laid by the Masonic Grand Lodge of Vermont, inclosing " the Bible," " Governor Hall's Early History of Vermont," " Rev. Isaac Jenning's Memorials of a Century," historical account relating to the battle monument, manuscript copy of the contract for the erec- tion of the monument, "Biographical Encyclopedia of the Nineteenth Century, Vermont," copies Bennington Banner, newspaper; copies Bennington Reformer, newspaper; other Vermont newspapers, Troy and New York newspapers, print- ed laws relating to monument, battle of Bennington and Vermont centennial, "History of Odd Fellowship," report of Masonic Grand Lodge of Vermont, 1887, official programme of laying of corner stone, August 16, 1887, memorial medal, bank notes of the banks in Bennington, copper coins, brigade order and roster, and regimental order from adjutant-general's office for muster of 1887. Addresses of much interest and merit were made during the exercises by Grand Master Alfred A. Ilall, Governor Ebenezer J. Ormsbee, ex-Governor Ben- jamin F. Prescott of New Hampshire, and the orator of the day, ex- Governor John. W. Stewart. The ceremonies being concluded the benediction was pro- nounced by Rev. Isaac Jennings, pastor of the first church, when the proces- sion returned to Bennington village, where the military companies were in camp. Gratifying progress has been made in the erection of the monument, and it has now reached the height of one hundred and twenty-five feet. It is forty feet square at the base, is built of a very durable dark bluish limestone from a quarry near Sandy Hill, N. Y., and is expected to be completed this year, lifting its apex three hundred and one feet from the base.
Ecclesiastical .- Rev. Jedediah Dewey was pastor of the Congregational Church first organized in the town of Bennington. He was from Westfield, Mass., coming in 1763, and took an active part in the early difficulties of the settlers, bearing many secular burdens which providentially seemed to fall upon him and ever proving himself " a man of God, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." He died December 24, 1778, universally lamented. He left a large family of children and his descendants are among the most respectable inhabitants of the town.
Rev. David Avery resigned as chaplain in the army, and became the settled pastor of this church May 3, 1780. His relations with the church and people were not altogether pleasant, as he insisted on his right to hold a colored woman as a slave whom he had brought to live in his family, and the pastoral was dissolved at the end of three years.
Rev. Job Swift, D.D., was the next pastor, being settled February 27, 1786. He remained with the church over sixteen years, proving himself a worthy min- ister of Christ; but party politics running high and dissensions arising he felt it
284
HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
his duty to ask for a dissolution of the pastorate, and which was concluded June 7, 1801. He removed to Addison, Vt., where he was settled in the ministry, and died in 1804, aged sixty-one.
Rev. Daniel Marsh was first "hired for one year," March 27, 1805, and at a meeting May 12, 1806 a vote was taken " to unite with Mr. Marsh in call- ing a council for his installation." He preached the dedication sermon of the present church on New Year's Day, 1806. It had been occupied, though not completed, for some time previous to this. This sermon was published. as also were sermons afterwards preached, one before the State Legislature, and one on the. 16th of August, 1809. He was regularly dismissed April 25, 1820.
Rev. Absalom Peters succeeded Mr. Marsh, being installed July 5. 1820. His pastorate was one of great satisfaction to the people, which he left Decem- ber 14, 1825, to accept the secretaryship of the United Domestic Missionary Society, in which capacity he aided in forming the American Home Missionary Society, of which he was the secretary. One quite competent to judge says of him, " with a graceful style in sermonizing, and great ardor in his work, he attracted large audiences, and was blessed with numerous additions to the church."
Rev. Daniel A. Clark was installed as pastor June 14, 1826, coming from Amherst, Mass., to Bennington. He was a powerful preacher, and his plainness of speech in attacking vice and immorality of every form, with his outspoken opinion upon any subjects being discussed in the community made him un- popular, and he closed his connection with the church October 12, 1830. There have been two volumes of his sermons published, which have had quite an extensive reading, and many of them have been pronounced of superior merit, and of great beauty of style." One of his sons, Rev. Frederick G. Clark, was pastor of churches in New York and Brooklyn for several years. He lived a number of years in the pleasant residence he erected on the site of Governor Moses Robinson's old mansion, and which he occupied for a summer residence during his last pastorate over the Second Presbyterian Church in Troy, N. Y., until decease in 1887. He was a man of marked ability, and was greatly be- loved as a friend and pastor.
Rev. Edward W. Hooker, D.D. became pastor February 21, 1832. He was a descendant of the elder President Jonathan Edwards. He was a faithful preacher of the Gospel, and spent what time he could without neglecting other duties in visiting his people, and in calling upon the sick. His parishioners were much attached to him, and during one of the years of his stay here ninety were added to the church. His dismissal occurred May 14, 1844, and he im- mediately entered upon the duties of professor of sacred rhetoric and ecclesias- tical history in the Theological Institute, at East Windsor, Conn.
Rev. J. J. Abbott followed Dr. Hooker, being installed April 26, 1845, and remained a little over two years.
285
TOWN OF BENNINGTON.
Rev. Richard C. Hand became pastor of the church January 20, 1848. During his ministry, which closed November 26, 1852, forty-one united with the church.
Rev. Isaac Jennings was installed pastor of this church June 1, 1853. He was born at Trumbull, Conn., July 24, 1815, spending his youth in Derby, that State. He was a graduate of Yale College, of the class of 1837, in which were included Hon. William M. Evarts, United States Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite, Hon. Edwards Pierpoint, and Hon. Samuel J. Tilden. For a few years he taught successfully in Washington and New Haven, Conn., when he left that vocation and pursued a theological course at New Haven and An- dover, graduating at the latter institution in 1842. His first pastorate was in Akron, O., which he entered upon June 14, 1843, and which he left to serve an important church in Stamford, Conn., his native State, in 1847. Before leaving Akron he had married Miss Sophia Day, of Mansfield, O., with whom in the most affectionate and tender relations he lived until his decease, and to whom were born nine children, eight sons and one daughter. Mrs. Jennings and six sons survive him. Isaac, to whom was given his father's name, is pas- tor of the First Presbyterian Church in Elmira, N Y. Frederick B. is a law- yer in New York City, and Charles G. R. is a physician in Bennington.
Mr. Jennings was the author of the " Memorials of a Century." a volume of over four hundred pages published in 1869, and of great value, containing a very large collection of facts and memoranda connected with the history of the town. The work is indispensable to any one interested in its affairs in by- gone days, whether of a religious, political, military, social or biographical nature. It was suggested by his preparation of a centennial discourse to be delivered on January 4, 1863, in his church, much of which is embodied in its pages. The occasion was of great interest, and the church was filled to its utmost capacity. The delivery occupied more than two hours, but was listened to with unabated attention to the end.
The " Battle Monument" enterprise was one in which he took much inter- est, and in which he occupied a prominent position, being a member of the association and secretary of the board of directors. His last public act was pronouncing the benediction at the close of the ceremonies of laying the cor- ner stone of the monument on the 16th of August, 1887.
He was a model minister, ever exhibiting in his intercourse with others that Christian courtesy which won the respect and love of all His ministerial la- bors were greatly blessed in bringing among others many of the young to con- fess Christ, and his quiet and unobtrusive ways in living and proclaiming the word, have gained for him a name more to be prized than any honor or fame that merely wealth or official station could give. The sentiment conveyed by the anecdote which he relates in his sketch of Rev. Absalom Peters, would apply with equal pertinency to his own standing, where he says a " woe" was
286
HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
pronounced upon him by an entire stranger from a distant part of the State, saying : "Brother Peters, I have come to warn you, to pronounce a woe upon you. 'Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you.'" Undoubtedly, as in Mr. Peters's case, all was not sunshine in his relations with the world, but there was such a consistency in his walk that few ragged edges protruded to wound or irritate.
His pastorate ceased at the time of his decease, August 25, 1887, after a brief illness, casting a deep gloom over the entire community, and finishing a successful ministry of over thirty four years. There were added to the church during the first nine years of his pastorate one hundred and forty-two mem- bers. It was said by one of the church soon after his death in a personal notice of him, "he had lived a life of singular honesty, purity and Christian fidelity, and became a great factor in the life of the people, possessing the love and confidence of all without regard to age, race or sect." The funeral was from the church, which had been tenderly and tastefully draped by loving hands of his parishioners, prayer having been offered at the parsonage previous to gathering here. Rev. P. S. Pratt, of Dorset, officiated, assisted by Rev. A. B. Lambert, D.D., of Rupert, Rev. J. L. Harrington, of Sandlake, N. Y., and Rev. Z. Martin, of Bennington. The sermon by Rev. Pratt was based on Psalms, Ixvii, 6; and five sons with three deacons of the church bore the cas- ket to the grave. In the one hundred twenty-five years since the organiza- tion of the church, Mr. Jennings was the second pastor to be buried here, the first, Rev. Jedediah Dewey, having died nearly one hundred and nine years before.
The Rev. M. L. Severence was given a call, and began to supply the church in April, 1888. He was installed as pastor September 27 of that year, and is the present member. The parsonage was a gift made by Captain David Robinson, who before his decease, in March, 1858, had executed a deed of his residence to the church and society.
NORTH BENNINGTON.
It has been handed down as true, and is generally believed, that Captain Samuel Robinson, one of the first settlers of Bennington, a prominent man in both religious and secular affairs, was often asked by new comers with reference to where to locate, and that having learned their religious belief or proclivities would advise them if Congregationalists to settle in Bennington, if Baptists to go to Shaftsbury, if Episcopalians to Arlington, and if of no particular per- suasion to settle in Pownal Whether this is wholly true or only partially, the history of these towns show that such advice might have been given, and also heeded, for the different denominations spoken of flourished in the first three mentioned towns, as might have been expected had it in fact been given and adopted. The polity of these different sects was fostered and built up, and for
287
TOWN OF BENNINGTON.
a long time each was the prevailing denomination in these towns.1 As has been elsewhere said there was none but the First Congregational Church at Ben- nington Center in town for sixty- five years, and no church in North Benning- ton for seventy-three years, when a Universalist Church was erected, which was purchased in 1849 for an academy, and which is now the Roman Catholic Church, having been considerably enlarged. Sixty years ago the inhabitants generally went to Bennington Center, though there was the First Baptist Church of Shaftsbury situated about half a mile north of the village A large majority of the influential families in the northwest part of the town were con- nected with the Center church as members of it, or as regular attendants. It should be taken into consideration that it was not considered so great a hard- ship in those times to drive a little distance to meeting as it is now, for the world was not moving so fast, nor did it so often seem necessary to use tlie time of Sunday to get ready to start on Monday morning in season to get spe- cial advantages in the way of business.
Commencing on the county road going north of the old court-house hill the Robinson and Harwood families were ever found loyal to the faith of their fathers, and went up weekly to the house of worship. From the foot of the hill by Safford Robinson's, now the residence of James Lith, we have the names of Samuel Robinson, James Nichols, Charles Hicks, Deacon Jonathan French, now the Northrup place Uriah Edgerton, and Deacon Calvin Bingham, now the residence of F. B. Jennings. Following the river down from the Hathaway Corner should be mentioned many of the Walbridge family, the Hendersons, the Hinsdells, the Breckenridges, and Henrys. William Henry, sen., resided where his grandson, Deacon E. B. Henry now lives, a part of the dwelling hav- ing been built in 1769. He had four sons, William, jr., who also lived here, James, who resided where George Hinsdell now lives, David, the father of Paul M., who lived in the old house on the Northouse farm, and John who lived on the farm now owned by Lewis J. Lillie. The last named was the father of Richard W, who resided on the homestead ; lliram who located where John Biggart now resides, and John, who resided near where Charles Knapp now lives. These, not to mention others, were all attendants of the First Church in Bennington Center, and but few, comparatively, went anywhere else. The Presbyterian Church organized in Hinsdellville in 1834 was made up largely of the families of the above mentioned, and when it disorganized the members returned to the Center Church.
When the First Baptist Church in Shaftsbury, which was organized in 1768, " disbanded by a vote of its members to reorganize in a thriving village half a mile south in Bennington," in 1844, there was no church in North Bennington but the Universalist, and that in not a very flourishing condition. There were
" A " Protestant Episcopal Church " was organized at Arlington as early as 1784, and a church was built soon after.
288
HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
but a few families in the village that went into the enterprise, but the strength came from the neighborhood around Shaftsbury, White Creek and Hoosick. The result has been all that could reasonably be expected. The church has been prospered, and by the carnest work of faithful disciples very many have been reached, and like other New England churches, it has sent abroad those who have gone into distant parts of the country, and especially the West, car- rying that leaven the influence of which can only be known in eternity.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.